


And if you take my hand I'll leave it all behind

by JuliaBaggins



Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2015-11-24
Packaged: 2018-05-03 03:02:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5274044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaBaggins/pseuds/JuliaBaggins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Patroclus, who has just moved to New York, works in a coffee shop and can't keep his eyes off a certain customer...</p>
            </blockquote>





	And if you take my hand I'll leave it all behind

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of an experiment as I've never written Patrochilles before; let's see how it works... :D

New York was intimidating, huge and not a bit like my hometown. There, my family had been well known; most of the locals highly respected my father and had seen me growing up. They knew my name, greeted me on the streets and I smiled back when they smiled at me - well, it had been that way, _before_.

Here, I was a nobody; people just passed by and somehow I was glad for it. Of course I missed home, but not how it was now. I missed the way it had been back in my childhood, or how I _thought_ it had been, judged by the few bright childhood memories I treasured deep in my heart. Lately, it had been hell - the way the people looked at me, changing the side of the street rather than meeting me. I heard them whisper behind their hands, how they'd always known that something was wrong with me, how sorry they were for my father. 

The court had found me innocent but the people didn't, and I was sure that they were glad when my father sent me away. Officially, it was for the purpose of studying, for me to have better carrier chances in the big city. But of course everybody knew what it was, me first of all - I saw it in my father's cold eyes when he said that he couldn't take me to the train station cause he had something important to do. I saw it in the tears on my mother's cheeks when she gave me a brief hug and then turned away. This was _punishment_ , and my parents protecting themselves, the image of the perfectly respectable citizens they had created over the years. I wasn't fitting in there anymore, well, I never _really_ had, but after _that_ day it was destroyed beyond repair.

I tried to stop thinking about it, about all of it. I was in New York now, far away from my parents and everyone I knew, and it was a chance.  
A chance for a new beginning. 

 

I walked through the streets, tried to see as much as I could, to take in my new home. It was so crowded; I heard dozens of different languages all around, and I felt alone. I knew how it was the best that could happen after everything, but still, I wanted to get away, to hide somewhere. I wanted to dip into one of my memories; maybe the one when we had been on holiday at the beach, me and my mom sitting in the warm sand, the sea, the ocean… 

The raindrops on my face washed away the illusion of a nice day at the beach so I decided that it was time to find the place where I was supposed to stay during my visit. Well, no, it wasn't just a visit, it was my new hometown, but I couldn’t think of this city or a stranger’s flat as _home_.

 

My father had asked an old friend from university to let me stay with him till I had found an own apartment and I was on my way to him now. I only had a name, Chiron, and an address. I should be near now, but I wasn't sure, this city was just too big. Too confusing. And now also too rainy. Was this weather typical for New York? On TV it always looked sunny but maybe I should have still brought a raincoat. I made a mental note to buy one as soon as possible while I looked around. This should be the right building and it was _huge_ ; something that deserved the name skyscraper. I got in, took the elevator and got out of it on 11th floor. I looked at my piece of paper with the address on it again, just to be sure. I was on the right floor, in the right building, and now I just needed to get to apartment 7. 

Finally, I found the door to number 7 and rang the bell, suddenly very nervous. I knew some of my father’s friends and it was not like I really liked them, so how… 

The opening door interrupted my thoughts and a tall man with dark, intelligent eyes and a black beard looked at me. 

"You are Patroclus?" I nodded; somehow I seemed to have lost my ability to speak. 

"Come in." He held the door open, let me into his flat. The furniture was extraordinary. All of it were antiques - not from the same period, but somehow it fitted together in its own way. There was an expensive looking telescope near a window in what seemed to be the kitchen; books, old ones bound in leather, and medical journals everywhere in the living room. I loved it. 

Chiron watched me while I looked around in his flat, fascinated by all of the details. There were even some instruments and I wondered how it might sound when he played them. After some time he smiled at me and asked if I was tired, if I'd like to relax a bit first. Of course I said yes; the day had been so long and there were so many new influences my mind had to catch up with.

He guided me to his guest room, right next to the living room, before he left me on my own, only to come back with something to eat a few minutes later. He placed a tablet with a bowl of soup and another one full of berries on the small table, smiled at me again and wished me a good night before he left.

I ate the soup, which was delicious, put the few clothes I had brought with me into a cupboard and laid down on the bed. So this was my home for now. I realized that I was smiling at the thought, just a little, but it was there. I already loved the flat and though we only had exchanged a few sentences (well, he had said a few sentences, me maybe a few words) I somehow trusted Chiron. He seemed like a man I could grow to like. And I had no clue how this man and my father could ever have been friends.

 

My first night in New York was filled with bad dreams and I needed some time and a long shower in the morning to wash away the feeling the dreams had left in my bones. After that, I went to the kitchen to find Chiron sitting in a chair, a cup of coffee and the Times in front of him. He looked up at me, smiled and invited me to join him. 

Though I hadn’t been able to say much yesterday I somehow couldn’t stop talking as soon as I sat down with my own coffee at Chiron’s kitchen table. Maybe it was just the need to talk to someone, maybe it was the feeling that I could trust him, maybe it was that he didn’t seem to judge me though my father had surely told him everything – probably it was a mix of all. 

So I told Chiron about home, my parents and about the day I had killed that other boy. It had been self-defense as he had tried to rob me, a knife in his hand, but still, when I thought of how I had pushed against his chest, how he fell back and hit his head at the sharp edge of a container…

He listened without interrupting me; and only once I could read something in his face. It was when I told him how the court had found me innocent and how no one cared, how they still treated me as a murderer, my father first of all. He frowned and his eyes seemed to darken a bit, but as soon as I had stopped talking to look at him, questioning, his face went back to the shade of unreadable it had worn before.

After I had finished my story he studied me for a few minutes without saying a word and oddly enough the silence between us was not uncomfortable. Now I was sure that he wasn’t judging me and I felt how the last bit of tension left my body. When he finally asked me what I liked, what I was interested in, I couldn’t help smiling brightly at him. And I told him about the baking, how I loved being out in the nature, that I’d love to be a doctor one day. He laughed at that and told me that I had come to the right place as he was working in one of the city’s biggest hospitals. Chiron asked me if I had thought of studying medicine here, which I had of course, but I had worries about paying for it.

I liked Chiron's idea of getting a job to pay for my studying. Of course I would never ask my father for money in that matter; I knew he'd say no as he had never supported my interest in medicine. He wanted me to become a banker or a politician like himself, not a doctor. Furthermore I still had a few free months before I could start my first semester and, as I’d soon find out, working for myself felt good, it felt independent.

 

So here I was, working in a crowded coffee shop, selling way too expensive beverages to people who were busy getting to their jobs. It could be worse. Sure, the job was stressful, but I got paid good enough, my boss – Briseis – was a nice lady and she even allowed me to help her making the cupcakes we sold as soon as she found out that I loved baking. Working with her was fun though I couldn’t really understand her love for motto weeks or that aggressive shade of pink she seemed to own all her clothes in. 

 

It was my third week of working in the coffee shop when I first saw _him_. He was sitting at one of the few tables, surrounded by other boys who were chatting and laughing. Somehow, he seemed to be somewhere else with his mind, a soft smile on his lips - oh, those lips...

"Mister?" Damn. I had been busy starring at the gorgeous customer with that amazing golden hair and forgotten the lady right in front of me. She looked at me, a hint of angriness in her eyes, and pointed at her order I held in my hand. I apologized, gave it to her and she left without saying goodbye.

A few minutes later, when there was no one standing in the queue, I could look at him again. Even through the distance I could see how his eyes were sparkling while he was talking to the boy next to him, this extraordinary shade of green...

He moved his head, looked up, and his eyes found me. I felt my face heating and hurried to look somewhere else, to focus on something that was _not_ this boy who looked like a damn _god_. So I studied the different types of cupcakes we offered (yeah, like I hadn’t baked them this morning) when I heard a noise, a cough. 

 

 _He_ was standing right in front of me, a curious look in his eyes and a small smile playing around his lips. 

"Can you recommend me something?" He pointed to the cupcakes. I remained silent, lost myself in the sound of his voice and the green of his eyes. Now that he was so close I could see the little golden spots inside all of that green, like…

"Sorry?" He seemed slightly confused now. 

"Yeah, sure, sorry, this one, Greece." I was speaking too fast, not to mention that I wasn’t able to form a proper sentence, but what should I do? He was _so_ close, and so _damn_ hot!

I showed him one of our new creations, a cupcake that contained honey and dried figs. There was a European themed motto week with cupcakes that should represent special countries and I had offered him the one called "Greek Dream", the one I liked best. 

His smile had grown wider at me trying to get words out of my mouth and it was still there; his eyes fixed on my face instead of the cupcake. Though he hadn't paid any attention to it he said "I'll take it." 

I wasn’t able to answer; my hands were shaking as I put the cupcake on a plate and as soon as he had returned to his table I asked Briseis if I could take a break and hurried in our backroom. 

 

After a few minutes, my colleague Hector found me. 

“Ahh, there you are, Pat. Just had an interesting talk with blondie you were staring at all the time.” He laughed as he saw my face’s expression. 

“Hey buddy, everything alright.”

“So, ähm, what did he say?” I felt my cheeks heat at the knowing look in Hector’s eyes. 

“He said that he _loved_ the cupcake.” He smirked. 

“Oh, and he gave me this for you.” Hector handed me a piece of paper, padded me on the shoulder and left me alone.

 

I looked at the note I was holding.

“ _Call me_ ”, stood there in an elegant handwriting, followed by a phone number.

And underneath it, a name.

“ _Achilles_.”

 

I felt like my smile was getting too big for my face.

**Author's Note:**

> It would be lovely if you could comment and tell me how you liked this chapter :)


End file.
